The Blinding Flames
by Henry Vyne
Summary: Merlin bravely rescues someone in a house lit on fire, but in doing so, becomes blind. Arthur and the knights then embark upon a quest to find the amulet that is said to be able to heal the dying servant. In the meanwhile, Arthur discovers (Or tries to discover) some hidden secrets of Merlin's.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a little idea that I got about Merlin. I basically said all that needs to be said in the summary, except the tedious disclaimer. No, I do not own Merlin and most likely never, ever will. Also, reviews are super duper appreciated.**

Arthur and the knights ran towards the rapidly increasing fires spreading through the lower town. It had started out as a forest fire, caused by some irresponsible campers, but soon caught a nearby barn full of hay and dry straw, and things really only got worse from there.

There were knights and soldiers running about in the fray, carrying buckets of water back and forth from the well to the flaming houses. But in the middle of all the commotion was Merlin, scurrying about with Gaius, whilst trying to get all of the wounded rounded up and away from the fire to be treated. Guinevere was, as always, helping out Gaius and Merlin by treating the minor injuries that a few people had suffered. Luckily there was nothing too serious so far, but the fires showed no sign of halting anytime soon.

"Help!" A man cried. "Help, someone! My daughter is still in there! Help!" Merlin turned around immediately following the voice he had heard. He soon caught sight of a man, maybe in his mid thirties, screaming desperately for assistance. Merlin looked around, searching for a nearby knight, but they were all too far away to hear the man's pleas for help.

Without thinking it fully through first Merlin ran as fast as his legs could carry him to the man in need.

"Merlin, wait!" Gaius called out in vain.

"Which house is it?" Merlin asked frantically when he reached his destination in front of the man.

"That one." The man pointed towards a house almost entirely corrupted in flames, and just barely still standing, a few yards away from them.

Merlin nodded his head briefly in understanding and then turned to run into the house with the child in it. Before he could leave though, the man grabbed his forearm.

"Bring her back to me, please." He begged.

Merlin looked into those eyes; so sorrowful, full of fear and worry, and just the slightest sliver of hope. That was enough hope though, for Merlin to plaster a look of determination upon his face and once again nod in understanding, before making a full run towards the house.

"Cadit nubes super aquas viventes!" Merlin said loud enough for the power in his voice to be easily recognized, but still quiet enough so no one heard except for himself.

* * *

"We need to maintain the fire. We can't allow it to spread any further." Arthur was giving orders in hope of drenching the fire before they grew even further. _If only it was raining, _he wished silently.

He carried on like this for a few minutes; giving instructions to idle soldiers, and helping dump water onto the fires, in some feeble attempt to drown them. It was a lost cause. He knew without a miracle the fires would keep spreading well into the rest of the town.

But he continued to do his work wholeheartedly, that is until he saw Merlin running away from where he and Gaius were examining some burn marks on a victim of the outburst of flames. He saw the Merlin dash to a crying middle aged man and talk to him for a small while before running towards... a burning building. _Oh, no. _He thought.

Arthur charged as fast as he could into the building, chasing after Merlin with as much speed as he could manage to muster.

Once Arthur had entered the burning building, it didn't take him long to find Merlin crouching beside a little girl in a corner, no older than five or six years, trying to coax her into moving while she was coughing wretchedly due to the suffocatingly heavy smoke, that clung thickly to the air, making it nigh impossible to breathe.

_We don't have time for this, Merlin, _He though while charging towards them preparing to grab the girl and get all of them out of the house as soon as possible. He was stopped short however, when Merlin scooped the child up in his arms, ignoring the feeble protests and sobs, and ran into the flames, shielding the small child protectively in his arms, knocking down the wall in the process.

All the of the sudden, Arthur was very glad he wasn't wearing his armour, or else he would have been baked inside the heavy sheets of metal and chain mail. These thoughts of luck didn't last long though, when he heard the building beginning to collapse around him, due to Merlin knocking down the wall.

"Merlin!" Arthur shouted reaching his hand out to where he could still see the faint outline of his servant, returning the child safely to her parent's arms.

* * *

Merlin was done trying to reason the child. He was running out of time, so he scooped her up into his arms, closed his eyes, turned his right shoulder to the wall, and rammed into it with all the strength he had.

His plan had worked! It wasn't a very elaborate plan I suppose, but it still got them all safely out of the building. Or so Merlin thought.

He delivered the child into her father's arms, and could see Gaius marching towards him, no doubt to give him a sound scolding. He started walking towards Gaius, thinking that it would just be better to get it over and done with, until he heard someone shout out his name. For the second time that night, he turned around at the voice, and saw Arthur shouting out his name and reaching his hand forward.

Merlin's eyes widened in surprise and he took a step backwards in shock. His mind raced in thought. _How long had he been in the building with me? Did he follow me in to save me? Will I have killed him from knocking down the wall? _Again, Merlin's feet led him, and he found himself running as fast as he could towards Arthur. He had no idea what he had hoped to accomplish, but he kept running anyway. Every nerve in his body, every instinct told him to save Arthur. No matter what it took. He was too dear of a friend to lose. They had come too far for it all to end now.

Merlin jumped onto Arthur, knocking him over and landing on him just as the house came down on top of them. Merlin served as a human shield to the king, gaining several nasty scorch marks and bruises in doing so.

Arthur felt the wind being knocked out of him as he was knocked over forcefully by Merlin's weight that was thrown so abruptly on to him. As he gasped for air beneath all of the soot, rubble and smoke, he tried to make his hand to Merlin's neck, hoping desperately for a pulse. Arthur tried to sigh in relief when he found one, albeit a faint one, but instead the attempted sigh ended up just choking him ever further.

When he had finally regained his composure, he gently rolled Merlin off of him and stood on his knees and hands in a crawling position. He leaned over to Merlin and started to put out the fire that was burning on his jacket. After another short coughing fit, he realized that there was still fire surrounding them, and even though Merlin was still breathing, he wouldn't be able to keep doing so unless he received some fresh air and water.

He shifted into a low crouching position and carefully grabbed Merlin arm and swung it over his shoulder, eventually maneuvering his way so the unconscious Merlin was fully draped over his shoulder. He stood up slowly and walked over to Gaius, trying to get Merlin onto a stretcher as soon as possible. He was stopped when Gwaine ran over to him. He knew Gwaine was talking to him, but tuned him out as he started to feel very lightheaded. He felt Merlin being lifted off of his shoulder, and his vision started to turn black and blurry around the edges. He felt someone lifting his arm above their shoulders, but quickly pushed them aside, returning his attention to Merlin again.

"Is he going to be alright?" He asked Leon.

"I don't know." Replied the knight. "Gwaine took him over to Gaius and their moving him into the castle now. I didn't get a chance to look at him yet." Leon said while glancing in Gwaine's direction. He was carrying Merlin as fast and gently as he could towards the castle. "What about you, sire, are you alright?" He asked looking back to Arthur. "Are you able to walk?"

Arthur met Leon's gaze and after a few seconds of puzzled looks, Arthur snapped out of his reverie. "Yes, I...I," Arthur stopped his sentence short and stumbled forward into Leon's arms as his knees gave out and the blackness began to take over his vision entirely.

"Sire?"

"What happened to him?

Arthur heard the muffled sounds of other voices around him, but paid no heed to them as he struggled to keep his eyes open. He then felt wetness in is hair and on his face. It started dampening his clothes, and when he finally opened his eyes again, he realized it was raining every where. He tilted his head slightly up as the rain grew stronger and stronger, and watched as the fires began to grow smaller. A deep fog fell over all of the houses, making the air very moist and Arthur smiled at his good fortune, and then let himself embrace sleep, as he felt himself being pulled up and carried somewhere.

**Please tell me in a review what you think! If I were to keep going, would you keep reading it? If I do continue with this story, the chapters will be longer, ideally 3,000 words or more. I would just like a positive response as incentive and encouragement before I put a lot of work into this. Hehe, yeah, sitting in my bed staring at my computer all day counts as work now. Now if only I were getting paid...**

**BTW, the spell that Merlin performed did cause the rain and is Latin. Here's is rough (very rough) translation of it in English. It's something like, "Let the clouds fall down with over running water."  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you all so much for your reviews/follows/favourites! Thank you especially to the guest reviewers. I usually PM those who show interest in my stories so I can thank them, but because I can't do that for the anonymous reviews, I'll just thank you here. So, thank you! Really though, it's spectacular the attention this story has received for just one chapter. So with no further ado, the second chapter!**

**Word Count: 4048, not including my blabbering.**

* * *

Arthur awoke in his chambers sitting up suddenly. He relished the fresh air coming through window for a few seconds before remembering everything that had happened the night before. He jumped up out of his bed and quickly put his red tunic on before walking quite quickly, almost sprinting, out of his bedroom to see Merlin.

His lungs were burning fiercely due to all of the smoke he had inhaled the night before, but he didn't slower his pace. When he finally finished his short trip to Merlin's and Gauis's rooms, he didn't bother with knocking and slammed open the door. He looked around the empty room. Well, empty of people at least. There was still the usual sight of books and various vials and potions strewn across the room. Arthur walked up to Merlin's room, hoping that they were in there, so he could see Merlin right away, but also hoping that they weren't in there, which would mean that Merlin was well enough to leave. He was both relieved and disheartened to Gaius leaning over Merlin, putting fresh bandages over his eyes.

"How is he?" Arthur asked nervously.

Gaius jumped out of surprise and turned to look at Arthur. "You startled me." Gaius turned back to Merlin and quickly finished his work on bandaging the young man's face. He then answered the king's question. "He has inhaled much smoke, but not enough to be life threatening."

Arthur sighed in relief and pulled up a chair to sit next to Merlin. "Has he woken up at all yet?"

"No, I can't say that he has."

"What about these bandages? Was he burnt?" Arthur made a sweeping gesture with his hand towards Merlin's bandaged eyes.

"I'm afraid he was, Sire. Quite severely around his eyes."

"Will he be alright?"

"I'm afraid it's too early to say, but..."

"What is it, Gaius? Is there something that you're not telling me?"

Gaius paused for a few seconds before continuing. "It is likely that Merlin's sight will have been impaired."

"What do you mean?" Arthur swallowed anxiously, hoping desperately not to hear the answer he was afraid he was going to hear.

"It is possible that Merlin," Gaius tore his vision away from Arthur's face. He wasn't sure he would be able to finish his sentence if he was looking at Arthur's worry filled eyes. He cast his vision down towards the floor and started again. "It's possible that Merlin is...blind."

Arthur leaned back in his chair with shock._ No, no, no, no! This can't be happening!_ "There must be something we can do for him!" He said rather loudly.

"I'm afraid all we can do is wait." Gaius said sadly.

"There has to be something! He can't be blind!" At this point Arthur was standing up and shouting in fear and frustration.

"Is it possible that it's just a mistake, and he is actually still alright?" Arthur said after finally calming down.

"There is a chance, but I must admit it is a small one."

Arthur sat back down in his chair, in fear of his knees betraying him and buckling. He was shaking all over and took a few seconds to compose himself before speaking again. "Is it permanent?" He asked, speaking barely above a whisper.

"I'm sorry, Sire. Only time will tell. But the odd are against it."

* * *

Arthur rested his elbows on his knees and had his head buried in his hands, fingers twisted in his tangled hair. He just sat there for close to an hour, staring at Merlin. Gaius had left long ago in order to do his daily rounds, but Arthur stayed, just waiting and hoping. He was never very religious but he prayed to whatever gods or goddesses that may hear him. He prayed for Merlin to be okay. He would never forgive himself if Merlin was forever blind. He should have trusted Merlin. Trusted him to look after himself. But, no. Instead he ran in after him, only making things worse. It could have caused Merlin to lose his life, but now it will have cost him his vision.

Arthur sighed and wondered what would've happened if Merlin hadn't gone back into the burning house to save him. Would Arthur have died? Gone blind? His thoughts were soon interrupted by Merlin jolting up into a sitting position, shrieking. Probably waking from a nightmare.

"Merlin! Calm down, it's okay. It's okay now." Arthur had been up in an instant, grabbing Merlin and holding him in his arms, running his hands through Merlin's hair while whispering soothing words.

Merlin struggled in the bed, trying to get out from under the blankets, but in doing so, only caused them to get even more tangled up with his legs. He reached his hands up to his eyes, frantically trying to remove the pesky bandages over his face, all of the while kicking his legs, still trying to become free from the bedsheets. Arthur grabbed his hands and pulled them away from his face. This happened over and over again a few times, before Merlin finally stopped. Merlin resisted Arthur's offered comfort as first; trying to get away from his strong arms, but soon calmed down as Arthur's words comforted him and his breathing became less laboured and more evened out.

Arthur put his hand over Merlin's forehead, and silently cursed feeling his heated brow. He obviously had a very strong fever. It must have developed in the time that Gaius had left.

The two sat like this for a while, and Arthur wondered if Merlin was conscious yet. Merlin's breathing became calmer and he rested his head against Arthur's chest, silent tears of excruciating pain escaping from his eyes. Arthur ran his fingers through Merlin's tangled hair, being careful not to disturb the bandages that were wrapped all around Merlin's head. After a few more minutes Arthur decided it would be best to leave and inform Gaius about Merlin's newly formed fever, before it became even worse.

He slowly started to slide Merlin out from his arms and was almost done with the task, when Merlin reached his hand up and grasped Arthur's tunic, clenching the bunch of fabric in his fist. Arthur held his breath, trying his best not to wake his servant, and started to pry his shirt away from Merlin. Merlin inhaled sharply, causing Arthur to stop his efforts. Merlin held on even tighter to Arthur's shirt and started panting and mumbling incoherently. Arthur wanted nothing more than to embrace Merlin in his arms and cradle him until he was better, but he knew he had to get Gaius before things started to get worse.

Just then there was a knock on the door. Arthur sighed gratefully at this intervention.

"Enter." Arthur said softly, trying not to disturb Merlin, who he had decided was sleeping.

The door opened and Guinevere entered. "How is he?" She asked, obviously worried at Merlin's pale and sweaty face, that was partially covered with bandages.

"I'm not sure. He's developing a fever though, and we need to get Gaius in here." Arthur looked up at Guinevere, and she smiled slightly.

Guinevere walked towards Merlin and petted his hair for a few seconds, curious and worried about the coverings over his eyes. She stepped back and looked to Arthur.

"I'll go and fetch him, then." She said and then turned and started leaving through the doorway, but after a sew seconds of hesitation turned around again to look at Arthur. "I know you want to be with him, Arthur, but you are the king. You can't afford to stay in here forever."

Arthur looked up at her with sorrowful eyes. "I can't leave him." He looked down to Merlin again. "Not now."

Guinevere smiled in sympathy and after a few seconds of deliberation, answered Arthur. "For now then, you can stay with him, but you should continue your work tomorrow. Shall I tell them you were delayed for the council meeting today?

Arthur smiled slightly and nodded to her, right before she tuned and exited though the doorway.

"Tell Gaius to hurry!" He called out to her.

* * *

Merlin woke up again, this time much more calmly. He continued to lie down, not moving for a while; just listening to the sound of someone's heartbeat that was thudding rhythmically against his ear. He tried to open his eyes, but something was blocking his eyelids from moving. He thought about moving his hands to his face, so that he could inspect what it was, but right then, in his half awake and delirious state, he didn't want anything to change. He just wanted to stay there forever, with the comforting sound of someone breathing beside him. Things only seemed to get better and better as fingers started running through his sweat dampened hair, smoothing out the tangles in them. He drifted in and out of sleep for a few more minutes, content with everything.

Those peaceful thoughts didn't last for long though. He gasped in pain as his brain finally caught up with his nerves and his face felt like it was on fire and his right arm was searing with pain. He grunted in discomfort and felt at the bandages covering his eyes. His movements were too jerky though, and he pressed the bandages into the burns, causing the marred skin to become even more irritated, thus causing Merlin to cry out in pain. He started to thrash about with panic; trying to sit up and take the wrapping off of his eyes.

"Shh, it's okay. You're alright now."

He heard a soft voice trying to comfort him and strong arms holding him back.

"Let go of me!" He yelled, elbowing Arthur in the ribs, and in his frantic attempt to escape, rolled off of the bed on the side opposite to Arthur. He landed with his left wrist in a twisted position and screamed out in pain again. He heard footsteps coming towards him and tried to crawl away, but soon stopped when he heard that voice again.

"Merlin, it's okay. You can come here."

Merlin darted his head about the room, attempting to find out where this voice was coming from. He was laying on the floor still panting and holding his left wrist close to his chest. He whimpered and tried to stand up, but quickly fell over again. Arthur caught him, but Merlin certainly didn't seem grateful. "I said to let go of me!" Merlin pushed away from Arthur and landed on the floor again. Merlin found the wall nearest to him and backed himself up against it, panting for air. "Get away from me."

It hurt Arthur so much to see Merlin this way. He could feel his heart breaking and just wanted to things to be the same way they had been for years. He wanted Merlin back. He needed his best friend there by his side, like he always was.

He started taking steps forward again, but Merlin heard him. His head darted towards the sound. "I said get away." Arthur had never heard Merlin sound so angry, so cold, so threatening.

"It's alright, Merlin. It's me. It's Arthur."

There was a deafening silence and almost tangible tension in the room.

"Arthur?" He finally managed to croak out.

"Yes, it's me. You're alright now."

Merlin sighed and rested his head on the wall. Arthur took that as a sign of recognition and began slowly moving forward again. He soon reached Merlin and carefully picked him up bridal style. He didn't feel anymore tension with Merlin. Just exhaustion. He placed him back onto the bed, propping him up against the wall with a pillow. At that point Merlin had clawed enough at the bandages that had been taped across his eyes, so that they were just barely still hanging onto his face.

Arthur walked around to the other side of the bed and sat in the chair that was still standing next to it, rubbing his hand on his newly received bruise, thanks to Merlin elbowing him earlier. It had been about twenty minutes since Guinevere had set out in search for Gaius, and Arthur was hoping that he would return soon.

"Where are we?" Merlin asked after a while.

Arthur was shocked into silence for a short while before answering. "We're in your bedroom." He hadn't thought that Merlin wouldn't know where they were, but then again why should he if he couldn't see anything? A sharp pang of guilt hit Arthur as he thought that._ Merlin could be forever blind, and it will have been all my fault._

Merlin lifted his hands up and started peeling off the bandages covering his eyes.

"No, don't do that." Arthur said as if reprimanding a young child. He stood up again, almost reaching forward to lower Merlin's hands, but stopped himself when Merlin put down his hands himself. "Gaius should be here soon. He'll bandage it again for you."

Arthur leaned forward and stretched his hand out to feel Merlin's fevered head again, hoping that temperature had receded. When Arthur's hand met Merlin's head, Merlin jumped back with such surprise he almost fell off of the bed again.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Arthur stepped back and raised his hands a little bit into the air. He felt horrible for startling Merlin. He couldn't imagine how tense and uncomfortable he must be already.

Merlin leaned his head back against the wall and cradled his injured wrist in his hand, gritting hid teeth in the pain that was ripping all through out his sore and burnt body. "What happened?"

"You don't remember?"

Merlin shook his head silently. Arthur was about to explain the events of the previous night when the door opened and Gaius walked in, carrying some new bandages and some bottled medicines. "What happened?" Gaius asked looking at the state of the cloth that used to be assembled neatly over Merlin's eyes.

Merlin's head darted over to where he heard Gaius speaking. "Gaius?" He asked.

Gaius walked over to the side of the bed where Arthur wasn't sitting. "Here, let me take a look at you."

"Merlin hurt his left wrist." Arthur informed Gaius. "I think it might be broken."

Gaius gave Arthur a quizzical look, but didn't question him. He took off the rest of the bandages over Merlin's eyes as Merlin winced in the pain that followed. Arthur leaned in closely, anxious to see the damage that had been done. Arthur couldn't suppress a slight gasp when the bandage was fully removed. Most of the skin around Merlin's eyes was and very red and swelled, but mostly just burnt off in various places, making Merlin's once pale skin very blotchy. It was scorched more than Arthur had anticipated it would be, and it was sure to scar forever.

"Keep your eyes closed, Merlin." Gaius instructed as he poured some liquid from a bottle onto a clean cloth and began dabbing it around Merlin's eyes and onto his eyelids. Merlin inhaled sharply with pain at the cloth brushing against his sensitive skin, but just bit his lip and kept his eyes closed tightly.

When Gaius had put a satisfactory amount of the medicine onto Merlin's eyes, he started to inspect Merlin's wrist, while Arthur just kept staring at Merlin's face. The guilt just kept crashing upon Arthur like waves. Just when he wasn't sure if he could bear to look anymore at Merlin's marred face, Merlin's eyes flew open, and Arthur almost fell over in surprise. After a few seconds of Arthur regaining his composure, he looked back to Merlin's eyes. When he saw them he felt so overwhelmingly sad he wasn't sure if he could even stay in the same room as Merlin. Instead of the bright blue eyes that usually greeted him, there were dark silver ones in their place, with the smallest hint of dull blue. They held far too much sorrow and pain for the likes of Arthur, and he didn't even bother trying to hide or stop the tears that started to cloud his vision.

"Gaius?" Merlin asked. The panic rising in his voice was very obvious. Merlin sat fully up, blinking his eyes repeatedly, despite the pain that ensued, and turning his head around the room. "Gaius!?" Merlin sounded close to tears and started hyperventilating. His breathing became laboured and he started shaking uncontrollably. "I can't see anything! Gaius, what's happening?! Arthur? Arthur, where are you!?" Merlin reached his hands forward, trying to find someone. Merlin started coughing wretchedly, his whole body shaking even more vigorously.

"I'm here, Merlin! It's alright." Arthur sat on the bed in front of Merlin and grabbed his searching hands. Merlin pulled Arthur into a full hug, still breathing rapidly and randomly. Eventually, his coughing died down as Arthur held him tightly in his arms, trying to still him. He rubbed his hands in circles on Merlin's back, trying his best to comfort him. Arthur looked to Gaius with a questioning look. He mouthed, "What do we do?"

In response, Gaius reached behind him and held out a potion. "Here, Merlin. Drink this."

Merlin drew back from Arthur and shakily held out his hands to his side, trying to find what Gaius was offering him. Gaius put the small bottle into Merlin's hands, and Merlin drank it all in one go, after a while of trying to steady his hands enough to reach them up to his mouth. Arthur gently guided Merlin back down so that he was lying down, and soon he was asleep again.

Arthur released a shaky breath and wiped the tears that had been free falling away from his eyes and face. Gaius began wrapping Merlin's eyes again with a fresh and clean bandage. Once that was finished he finally spoke. "Arthur, help me take his shirt of. His arm was burnt as well, and I should clean and redress that too."

Arthur did as he was told to and gently eased Merlin's tunic up towards his shoulders. He stopped short though and gaped at the shocking array of scars that Merlin had adorning his pale torso. Gaius noticed Arthur's reaction and silently swore at his forgetfulness. Arthur seeing all of these scars would only bring more questions for either him or Merlin to answer. Arthur didn't ask any questions though, and continued with the task at hand.

After Arthur had finished pulling Merlin's shirt over his head, Gaius took off the bandage that was covering a burn which was placed in the middle of Merlin's upper right arm. He quickly cleaned it and wrapped it again with new cloths. Then Gaius moved onto Merlin's wrist again.

"You were right, Arthur." He said. "I'm afraid it is broken." Gaius bandaged Merlin's wrist and then stood up to go downstairs to make another concoction to help with the pain. Gaius told Arthur this before he left, and then left Merlin and Arthur alone.

Arthur stood up and walked to the closet to get another shirt for Merlin to wear. He soon found a tan one that looked to be a nightshirt and brought it over to where Merlin was sleeping. Arthur took another long look at all of the scars that were permanently placed on Merlin's front upper body. Arthur looked at Merlin's face. It looked so peaceful. So unlike what his servant usually looked like. Looking at Merlin right then, there wasn't any goofiness, or any idiotic expressions. Just a very melancholy, serene feeling of peace.

After sitting back down in his chair, and looking at Merlin for several seconds with a newly found interest about him, curiosity got the better of Arthur. So he stood up and very carefully, making sure not to irritate Merlin injured right arm and left wrist, and rolled Merlin over onto his stomach. Arthur looked quite intensely at all of the scars on Merlin's back. There weren't as many there as on his chest and stomach, but there still were quite a few. "How could you have gotten all of these?" Arthur mumbled under his breath. He traced his fingers on the very large scar that was, almost on his spine, and placed on Merlin's lower back. Is was too circular too be a knife or a sword wound, and definitely too large to be one. Arthur scanned through his mind for all of the weapons he had encountered. None of them could have caused a wound like the one he was looking at._ It must have been magic,_ Arthur thought.

Arthur heard Gaius making his way back upstairs, so Arthur quickly shifted Merlin back onto his back and pulled the shirt over him.

Gaius entered the room holding another small bottle in his hands. He sat down in his former spot and put one hand behind Merlin's head, propping his neck up, and had his other poised over Merlin, preparing to pour the contents of the vial into Merlin's mouth.

"Hold his nose, Arthur." Gaius said.

Arthur leaned forward and pinched Merlin's nose shut, causing Merlin to open his mouth for air. Gaius slowly poured the medicine until the vial was empty, and then leaned back in his chair while sighing. "I have been giving Merlin some of the strongest pain killers that I posses." Gaius informed Arthur. "This has and will continue to cause Merlin to be in a very delirious state when conscious, and have very little control over his emotions. He will be very delusional. You will have to be patient with him."

"Of course," Arthur replied. "I can't imagine it's going to be easy for him."

"No, it won't be. For either of you." Gaius gave Arthur a pointed look, and then turned his attention back to the sleeping young man before them. He dipped a cloth into a bowl of cool water, and placed it onto Merlin's forehead.

The two closest to Merlin sat there for what seemed like hours, just looking at what was visible of Merlin's face, which was mostly the bottom half of his nose and down. Arthur was thinking about what they would do if they couldn't cure Merlin. That would mean Merlin could no longer be his servant. Arthur felt his stomach drop at the thought of that. No more Merlin waking him up in the mornings. No more long hunting trips with Merlin chattering away. No more waking up to Merlin draped over him searching for woodworm. Arthur almost chuckled at that last thought before the reality of the situation hit him again full force. He wondered if Merlin would even stay in Camelot or go back to Ealdor to live with his mother. He pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind._ No. There's always been a way before. Why should this time be any different?_

"It's late, Arthur. You should go to bed."

Arthur looked up at Gaius and then to the window. He was right, it was well past dusk. "Do you think he'll wake up tonight?"

"I highly doubt it, Sire. He's exhausted. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't wake up for a few more days." Gaius took the cloth from Merlin's head, and drenched it in the bowl of water and then rung it out. He dabbed all around Merlin's face, and then placed it again his forehead.

Arthur nodded and stood up, ignoring the sensation of pins and needles running through his legs that had fallen asleep hours ago. "Alert me if there is any change." Arthur took one last look at Merlin before heading downstairs, making his way back to his chambers.

He lay in bed that night, still above the covers in his day clothes. He hadn't eaten anything the whole day, but he had no appetite. He just lay there, scouring his mind for anything that he had heard over the past years. Anything of miraculous cures for permanent illnesses. He thought about all of the council meetings he had attended, all of the reports he had read and listened to. He stayed up very late that night, trying to remember anything that could be of use to Merlin. He eventually moved to his desk, riffling through some papers in search of what he was so hoping to find and remember. Eventually, he fell asleep hunched over on his desk, worn out with worry, anxiety, and of the tedious work of memories and time.

* * *

**Okay, I officially hate writing Gaius. Anyways, I realize that this may be becoming very OOC, but at this point, I'm just having a good time writing unrealistic angst. So if any of you think that you would really enjoy the story more if it was more in character, then PM me, or tell me in a review. If enough of you request that, then I'll try my best to make it a bit more realistic.  
**

**BTW, I had to look up burn marks on the internet to get an accurate description, and it was groooss! So be grateful and show your appreciation by leaving a review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's a little confession of guilt from me for anyone who wants to read it. I burnt my thumb while lighting a candle tonight, probably a good hour ago, and it still hurts so much! The flame didn't even touch my finger, the warmth of the fire just heated it up way too much for pleasantness, probably damaging some cells along the way. So now, I feel horrible for putting Merlin through all of the pain of the flames actually on his face and his arm! Seriously painful, dude. Anyways, there's my confession. I'm going to do my best to write with an injured finger, just like Merlin's going to do his best to still protect Arthur with an injured face. Except his job is much, much harder.**

**3,507 words, not including the author's notes.**

* * *

"Time to get up, sleepy head!"

Arthur opened his eyes and sat up, leaning back onto his elbows. He saw Merlin pulling back the heavy curtains that were covering the windows. Light shone through them with such brilliance and he could see Merlin start to saunter about the room, picking up some items that were laid out of place here and there. His face was still partially covered in bandages, but they were torn and worn away, leaving his dull and yet piercing eyes visible, and some the marred skin around his eyes showing. He was wearing the clothes that he had on the night of the fire. His red neckerchief was blackened with smoke and soot. His trousers were torn in various places and had scorch marks all over them. He was wearing his usual jacket over his shirt, but on one if it's arms was a large and gaping tear, revealing the bandages that had been taped across Merlin's injury there.

"Merlin! What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in bed!"

Merlin stopped folding Arthur's trousers for a second and looked up at him. Straight at him. His eyes were still that dull grey-blue. Empty abysses of they eyes that used to hold so much hope and happiness. "Of course I'm here. Why wouldn't I be?" He then continued with his work, going about his chores like nothing had happened. Arthur was astonished.

"Lovely day, isn't it?" Merlin asked cheerfully.

"Merlin, you can't still be here. You need to get back to Gaius." Arthur stood up and walked towards Merlin. Merlin jumped away from Arthur with a playful look on his face.

"Seriously, Merlin. This isn't amusing anymore. Let's go." Arthur reached for Merlin's arm, but Merlin dodged his grasp.

"Arthur, I have lots of chores that need doing. So unless there's anything else that need doing, I have to go now."

Something wasn't right. Arthur felt a knot of anxiety twisting in his stomach, growing larger and larger by the second as he watched Merlin walk towards the door. There was something about Merlin. He seemed to almost glow, but it was such a sickly kind of glowing.

"No, Merlin." Arthur put his serious voice on. "You're not well. We're going to see Gaius."

Merlin turned around to face Arthur and stared straight at him again, looking directly into his eyes with a cold and hard stare. "Why should _you_ care?" He said it with such disdain that Arthur felt hurt for a while, before shrugging it off.

Arthur scoffed. "Because you're my friend. You're still sick and obviously not fit to work."

"Oh, I see!" Merlin said enthusiastically as if some huge mystery had just been solved. "You're too good for me to even be your servant anymore!"

"What?! No! I never said that! Don't you even remember what happened?"

Oh, yes!" Merlin said with feigned remembrance. "I was in a fire." His eyes widened, in again, feigned remembrance. "Except, you killed me!" Merlin pointed an accusing finger at Arthur.

Arthur took a step back. "What!? What do you mean I killed you? I never killed you!"

"Well, I suppose that's _somewhat _true. You weren't actually the one to deliver the final blow, but you certainly played your part." Merlin was now making his way away from the door.

"Merlin, this is nonsense. If I had killed you, how are you still here?" Arthur reasoned.

"Oh, I'm not actually here. No, I'm not here at all." Merlin walked towards Arthur and didn't stop when he reached him. Instead he became transparent and the glowing that Arthur had noticed before intensified, and Merlin walked right through him. Arthur turned to face Merlin, eyes widened in disbelief and a tinge of fear. Merlin grinned maniacally at the reaction that Arthur had given him.

You see, _sire_," Merlin said in a mocking tone. "I am a ghost. A phantom that will haunt you for the rest of your days. You killed me by forcing me to jump back into the fire! If you had just _left me alone_, I would still be alive!" At this point Merlin was shouting at Arthur. "But _no_. You _had_ to be the hero. You just _had_ to be the brave and noble champion who jumped into the roaring flames to save your poor, helpless servant." Merlin was now walking around in circles around Arthur, throwing his hands in the air for more emphasis.

"No! I would never do that to you! I _could_ never do that to you!" Arthur felt the tears running freely down his cheeks. Merlin laughed again at the reaction he had induced in Arthur. No, he outright cackled. It sent an endless row of shivers running down Arthur's spine.

"And yet, here I am. You're own personal manservant." Merlin mockingly bowed with one hand in front of him in a sweeping motion, and the other folded behind his back. "And I assure you, you _will_ pay for your mistake. Never again will you find peace. You will be tormented by a fate worse than death. You will be tormented by death itself stalking you like your shadow wherever you go. It will become your invisible shadow. _I _will become your invisible shadow. And then eventually when you have suffered enough, you will die a cold and lonely death with only my spirit to watch over you, but only after I have taken away everything that is dear to you, everything that brings you peace. This I swear to you."

Arthur dropped to his knees and started begging. "No, please! Merlin, stop! I didn't mean to! I didn't know!" Arthur was sobbing on the floor begging for forgiveness and redemption as Merlin kept on laughing to himself, bursting with glee at the pitiful king that was kneeling before him.

* * *

Arthur jolted into a sitting position in his bed, cold sweat running down his back and forehead. He took several second to compose himself and calm his radical breathing. _It was just a nightmare, it's alright. Just a nightmare. _Arthur sat like this for a few minutes, convincing himself that all was well, and Merlin was still alive. Yes, Merlin was alive, but all was far from well. Merlin was still blind, had a raging fever, and it was all Arthur's fault.

After a few minutes, Arthur looked to the window. Even though the drapes were still covering it, he could tell by the lack of light shining through the open cracks, that it was not yet dawn.

"Arthur," A voice called. It was rugged and worn, but not threatening in any way. Arthur immediately swung his legs out from under the bed covers so that his feet were resting on the cold floor of his chambers. He reached beside him and and swiftly grabbed his sword. He unsheathed it and stood up.

"Who's there?" Arthur cautiously walked about the room, moving the heavy curtains to the side the the tip of his sword, trying to find out where the voice was coming from.

"Arthur," The voice repeated. Arthur turned around abruptly, sword pointed in front of him. "Hello?" A gust of wind blew the window behind Arthur open, causing the shutters to flap back and forth. Arthur walked to the window and peeked is head out of it. After looking around enough in all directions to satisfy him, Arthur pulled back and closed the windows.

The door creaked open behind him, and Arthur tuned around quickly enough to glimpse the ends of a grey cloak sweeping the floor, before it disappeared completely behind the partially open door. Arthur ran towards his bed and put on his boots that were beside it and then grabbed his belt that was set on the top of his nightstand.

He made his way to the door while fastening his belt around his waist and sneaked his way past the guards that were stationed around the castle.

He roamed about the citadel, following with haste the cloaked figure that kept disappearing around the corners of the empty halls. He looked around, trying to figure where he was being led, but soon gave up. The castle was so big that there was no use trying to figure out where he was headed so early on.

He gripped the hilt of his sword a bit tighter with anticipation as his search for the cloaked figure continued. After a few more minutes of walking about the castle, Arthur began to grow impatient. That is, until he followed this mysterious person into the armoury. He looked around again, and soon found the now familiar cape turning yet another corner.

He followed him around the bend and saw a shield hanging lopsided on the wall, revealing a secret passage way. Or, maybe not so secret as Arthur had liked to think. It was the same passage that Arthur had used to smuggle Mordred out of Camelot all of those years ago. Arthur chuckled slightly at the memory of Mordred while climbing into the tunnel.

He thought about his young knight that was living in the castle. He had only been a young boy then. A young druid boy. Arthur thought it somewhat amusing, that he who had been persecuted and hunted was now a fine knight of Camelot. Arthur sometimes wondered if he had magic. He was a druid after all. Even if he wasn't living with them anymore, he was still raised with and by them. Arthur had spent many an hour contemplating if he should confront Mordred about the subject. Just ask him once and for all if he was a sorcerer. He'd always decided against it though. He didn't want to damage his friendship with Mordred. The last thing he wanted was to offend Mordred by wrongly implying that he was a sorcerer. That he would betray Arthur's trust. No. Arthur couldn't risk that.

Besides, what would Arthur do with Mordred's answer? If Mordred said yes, admitted that he was a sorcerer, which Arthur had to admit was more likely than not, what would Arthur do? Sentence him to death? Burn him at the stake or have him hanged? Force him to repent under the threat of execution? Or if Mordred should say no. Should Arthur take him at his word? Carry on like things are all fine and dandy? If he asked Mordred, he knew that their relationship could never be the same. No, instead Arthur would just have to do as he always did where magic was concerned. Turn a blind eye and ignore the source of the problem.

He then thought about Morgana. She had been all alone when she discovered the she had magic. It had consumed her. Traveled all through out her body, mind, and soul until it devoured and contaminated all that had made Morgana herself. He couldn't stand by and watch that happen to Mordred as well. But was it already to late? He hadn't had any inkling, any sort of warning that Morgana was a traitor. No, he wouldn't let that happen to Mordred as well. He couldn't let that happen.

But what could he do? Repeal the ban on magic? Arthur almost laughed out loud at the thought of that. He couldn't destroy everything that his father had worked for. Not to mention all of the new enemies he would make, and the civil war it would bring upon Camelot by all of those who still opposed sorcery. No. The more and more Arthur thought about it the more and more he realized just how complex and delicate the situation really was. It wasn't just about Morgana and Mordred. It was about all of the hundreds of lives that had been lost because of magic and the persecution of it. But more importantly, it was about the hundreds more that would be lost if Arthur didn't do something about it soon.

Arthur was shaken from his reverie as he grew nearer to the end of the passage. He traveled to he end of the tunnel until he came to the place where he had waited with Mordred for Merlin to come and take the grate off. _Merlin! _Arthur suddenly remembered the last time he had seen his servant. Actually seen him, not just in his nightmare. But then was not the time for worrying, because the grate that had used to cover the exit to the tunnel, lay on the on the ground in front of Arthur, and he could see the cloaked figure waiting for him near the trees.

Arthur exited the tunnel and drew his sword, while approaching the man who he had been following. "Who are you?" He questioned.

The man pulled back his hood, revealing a handsome and chiseled face, with light brown hair on his head. But Arthur wasn't thinking about that. What he did notice was the druid symbol his had tattooed on the side of his neck. And there was something about that man. He looked familiar, but Arthur couldn't place who he reminded him of.

"I come in peace, young Pendragon. My name is Brengad."

Arthur lowered his sword slightly, but still had it poised, ready for an attack. Since this man was a sorcerer though, Arthur knew that his sword wouldn't prove to be of much use against a magical attack. Non the less, it made him feel somewhat protected. "What do you want?" He asked.

"I have come to give you a warning. There is a danger at hand far worse than any of the ones you've faced before."

Arthur sincerely hoped that that wasn't true. He had faced a whole lot of dangers in his lifetime, and while he had always known he would encounter more, he didn't think that they could get any worse than battling an immortal army for his kingdom. And yet, there he was, speaking with a druid, who most likely a seer in order to gain this information, who was telling him that very thing.

"What can I do to prevent it from happening?" Arthur asked earnestly.

"The damage has already been done. The real question is, what can you do to repair it?"

"How do you expect me to fix something when I don't know what it is? What's the problem?"

"A young man." The druid replied.

"He's the problem, or he's the solution?"

After a slight pause, Brengad answered. "Both and neither."

Arthur scoffed and shifted his feet to turn and look around him._ Why must magical beings always talk in riddles?_ He thought. Arthur faced the man again. "Tell me this. Who is he?"

The druid hesitated for a few seconds again before answering. "He has more than one name and identity, but you have come to know him as Merlin."

"Merlin?" Arthur asked in disbelief.

"That is what I said."

"No, you must be mistaken."

"Has Merlin not recently suffered from an injury?"

"Yes, but-"

Brengad interrupted Arthur. "Does he not continue suffer from this ailment?"

"Yes."

"Then I am certain that I am not mistaken. You must be vigilant, Arthur. The fate of the kingdom rests on the outcome of your quest."

"Wait, what quest?" Arthur was thoroughly confused now. It would have been nice to know that someone else was worried about Merlin under normal circumstances, but this secret meeting in the middle of the night is hardly what Arthur would call "Normal circumstances". Why would a druid care about Merlin? Forget that question, how did this man know that Merlin _needed_ caring for? And what did he mean by "More than one name"? Merlin was Merlin, and that's the end of that.

Brengad interrupted Arthur's musings. "If you wish Camelot to continue to flourish, Merlin must be returned to his full strength."

"But, there is no cure."

"There is a bracelet. The bracelet of Aimtelka. It is said to be hidden deep within the mountains of Elzgarath. You must retrieve this bracelet and have Merlin wear it. It's magical properties will restore him to full health."

"I don't condone the use of magic."

"Then Camelot will surely fall, and all that you hold dear with it."

Arthur contemplated this new information for a while. "I don't understand. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if Merlin isn't healed, but how does that effect the whole of Camelot. He is still just a servant, no matter how dear he is to me."

"You are wrong, Arthur. Merlin is much more than that."

"What do you mean?"

"That is not my story to tell. What you must know, is that if you don't cure Merlin, everything that you have made Camelot into, will be destroyed. And everything that you have so earnestly sought to accomplish, will perish with it."

Arthur was flabbergasted. What was he supposed to make of this? The next words that Brengad spoke were of no comfort to Arthur either. "Surely there must be another way!"

"There is no other way. Merlin's fever has grown worse. If he does not wear the bracelet, he will surely die."

Well that took a load off of Arthur's worries! Great. Just great. "How long does he have?"

"Two weeks at best. The fever will induce a very slow and painful death. It will gradually become worse as time goes on. Only the bracelet can save him now." With that, Brengad left into the forest, leaving behind a very befuddled Arthur.

The walk back to his chambers was most tiring and arduous. Not because it was a terribly long or strenuous walk, but because of the thoughts that raged inside of Arthur's mind during the walk back to his room. On account of being so caught up in his thoughts, he very nearly was caught by the guards several times. He wasn't doing anything illegal of course, but it would only raise suspicion and rumours if he was spotted, and Arthur had learnt from experience, that it was best to avoid those things if possible. He really needed to upgrade the watch duty. No wonder people had been able to successfully sneak into the castle so many times!

When he finally arrived in his chambers, he kicked his boots off of his feet and collapsed face first in his bed. He thought about his most recent conversation. What could Brengad have possibly meant? What more was Merlin than a servant and friend? How could he have such a big impact on Camelot? His thoughts were soon interrupted when a knock on the door sounded.

_Who could that be? _Arthur thought while sitting up. "Enter." He called. The door opened and a very sleepy guard came inside.

"Gaius sent me." He said.

Arthur was up in a flash and quickly put his boots on. "Is it Merlin?" He asked.

"Yes, my lord."

"Thank you." Arthur said in a rush while sprinting out of his room. How could he have been so stupid! Brengad had told him that Merlin's fever had worsened. He should have warned Gaius. When he finally did reach Gauis' chambers, the door to Merlin's room was opened, and Arthur could see Gaius dabbing Merlin's face with a cloth. Arthur strode towards and up the stairs until he was next to Merlin.

"How is he?" Arthur asked.

"He's worsened much since you last saw him." Gaius replied.

Arthur sighed and sat down in the chair that he had previously rested in. He reached forward and held Merlin's hand, rubbing it soothingly. Merlin looked much worse than before. He was even paler and sweatier, his pallid face thrashing back and forth against his pillow. His whole body quivered with exhaustion, as Gaius kept dabbing a cool cloth in his face.

"Can I help with anything?" Arthur asked. He felt so utterly useless just sitting there and watching Merlin suffer so horribly. All because of him.

Merlin began muttering incoherently and shaking uncontrollably. "So...cold." He mumbled.

Gaius looked up to Arthur. "There should be a stack of blankets in the storeroom down stairs. Go and fetch some for me."

"Of course." Arthur stood up and strode down the stairs quickly, soon returning with a small armful of course blankets. He put the stack on his chair and took one off of the top and unfolded it, and then laid it on top of Merlin. He repeated this course of action until the stack was gone, and then tucked the corners of the blankets in around Merlin, hoping that they would trap more body heat that way.

Merlin continued to moan with pain as his restless body battled the fever that was attempting to take over. Gaius began to change Merlin's sweat soaked bandages again, which was a difficult task due to Merlin's thrashing about. Arthur watched with horror as Gaius took the bandages off, revealing Merlin's scarred skin. His nightmare came vividly back into his mind, almost as real as the first time he had experienced it. He was just thankful that he didn't have to look into Merlin's sorrowful eyes again. 

* * *

**Haha! I have (hopefully) successfully written my first evil Merlin scene! However, it would not have been nearly as creepifying** **and cool as I think it is, if my internet buddy, Tears and Rain, hadn't helped me so much with it. I was originally going to have Merlin fully healed in the dream, and Arthur being surprised and happy, but she suggested it this way, which I think is much better. She has some really awesome stories going for her, so I advise to check them out! Anyways, back to me. :) I'm broken from watching the end of season five for the third time, so the next chapter may be delayed. I feel like my soul has been cruely sucked and stolen from my body, and that there's nothing to live for anymore! I can't believe how it ended! The worst part is, I like it! But I hate it! This could go on for hours, so I'll just end it now by saying, the finale was fantastic, and everyone did a spectacular job. Anyways, please leave a review and tell me what you thought of the chapter! Did you like the part where I let you in on what Arthur's thoughts are about Mordred?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Word count: 3,105 not including author's notes.**

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****

"Gaius?" Arthur asked hesitantly.

"What is it, Arthur?" Gaius asked in return.

"Have you ever heard of the bracelet of Aimtelka?"

Gaius's head shot up at this question? "Where did you hear that name?" When Arthur didn't answer, Gaius continued without a response. "The bracelet of Aimtelka is rumoured to be hidden deep within the mountains of Elzgarath. It was forged in powerful magic and it's healing powers are only rivaled by the Cup of Life."

A brief burst of hope spurted though Arthur when he remembered the cup. _Of course! We can just use that! _His enthusiasm was short lived however, when he remembered that Morgana had somehow managed to take it with her when she left with Morgause. He sighed in frustration as Gaius continued speaking.

"Where did you hear of it, Arthur?"

Arthur sighed again before he explained his previous conversation with Brengad to Gaius.

"Are you sure this man is to be trusted?" Gaius questioned after Arthur had finished speaking.

"No, but the druids have always been a peaceful people. They have no reason to lie about this. And I hardly see that we have a choice. Merlin is dying!" Arthur exclaimed with his hand dramatically gesturing towards Merlin's pale body. It was limp due to the low blood flow, and everything was clammy and bitterly cold, save for his head and face, which were still burning with a raging fever.

"You mean to embark upon this quest?"

"Absolutely, if means a chance to save Merlin."

Gaius slightly smiled at the fondness that Arthur displayed towards Merlin. Not so much in his words, but how he expressed them and the look on his face when he turned his gaze towards Merlin. There was sunlight streaming in through the window, making Arthur's hair shimmer a radiant gold, and making his blue eyes sparkle and deepen in colour.

"When will you depart?" Gaius asked.

"At dawn tomorrow. The knights should be up soon, I'll inform them of the plan when they awake." Arthur waited a few seconds for a response from Gaius, but when none came, he stood up and walked out the door to the main chambers, after taking one last look at Merlin. With the light on the sick man's face, he looked to peaceful and calm. So serene.

Once Arthur was out of Merlin's room, he stretched his arms and back by linking his hands together, and pulling them above his head until they were behind his back, without breaking the connection of his intertwined fingers. The result of this was many loud pops from Arthur's shoulder blades and spine. Arthur yawned and tried to shrug away his drowsiness, and then stiffly walked towards his chambers.

Once he was there, he sat on the bed whilst thinking very deeply. Eventually he forced himself to get up and do some of the awful paperwork that awaited him on his desk. After a while of mind numbing reading, he was immensely grateful at the interruption that came formed as a knock on the door.

"Enter" Arthur spoke.

Upon hearing these words George walked in the room, carrying a platter of plates filled with food.

"Oh, dear god... " Arthur mumbled under his breath. He had changed his mind. Paperwork was better.

"I have your breakfast here, my lord." George stated as he set the plate of food down onto the desk, and began tucking a napkin in around Arthur's shirt. "I shall be taking the place of your previous manservant, Merlin, as he is not in the state to work anymore."

"Thank you for your services, George, but as I have said before, I already have a manservant, and he'll be in the state to work soon." Arthur yanked the napkin out from his shirt and threw it behind him, leaving behind a very puzzled George. Arthur practically ran towards the door and left the room as quickly as he could. _What did I do wrong? _George pondered sadly as he began to tidy up the messy room.

* * *

Gwaine woke up to the sweet sound of a starling chirping outside his window. He stood up and smiled as he pulled his shirt on, humming as best as he could along with the bird. It was hard to do, due the unpredictability of the tune. Gwaine walked to the window and opened it, taking a deep breath of the cool and fresh air as the breeze ruffled his hair. It had taken him a little while to adjust to living in the castle, but once he did he enjoyed more than he thought he ever would.

He grabbed an apple from a bowl of fruit that was on a table in his quarters and cheerfully munched on it as he strode through the halls towards Merlin's room. He hadn't seen Arthur's servant since the day of the fire, and was wondering how he was doing. After all, Merlin had been in the burning house along with Arthur, but since Arthur seemed fine, he hadn't thought that Merlin would be any different. But he wanted to check up on him just to be sure.

Through the duration of his brisk walk, he gave many a cheerful nod to people passing by him until he reached the door to the physician's room. He knocked his hand against the creaky door a few times, and when he didn't get a response, he knocked again, that time a bit more loudly. Still no response came, so Gwaine quietly opened the door and peeked his head inside the room.

"Merlin?" He said, his voice hardly above a whisper. He creaked the door open a bit further and took one step in the room. He looked around him at the familiar mess of Gaius' chambers. He heard the loud snoring of Gaius and silently mused to himself at how Merlin ever managed to get any sleep with Gaius snoring like that all night. He looked around him again, and saw Gaius hunched over a table, with his head resting on an opened book. He chuckled softly to himself at this sight, and then made his way to Merlin's room as quietly as he could, so he wouldn't disturb the sleeping old man.

When he finally reached Merlin's door, he knocked again, but this time when he heard no answer, he didn't bother knocking a second time. He cringed as the door made a horrible creaking noise and instinctively looked over to Gaius to make sure he hadn't awoken him. Sure enough, Gaius was still sleeping soundly, so Gwaine turned his face back to Merlin's room. When he saw Merlin, there was no longer any trace of the so evident smile that used to be gracing Gwaine's fine features. His cheerful expression soon turned into one of dread and worry as his heartbeat increased rapidly as it seemed to sink into his stomach.

There was Merlin, laying on his small and hard bed, his face sweaty and cringing, obviously revealing that he was in excruciating pain, even though a third of it was covered in bandages. Gwaine released the breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding as he raced to Merlin's side. He felt so at loss as what to do. He couldn't touch him, in fear of disturbing his rest. So he just stood there for several seconds, completely dumbstruck and flabbergasted.

Finally, his senses returned to him as he tore his gaze away and marched over to Gaius.

"What the hell is going on?" He demanded, his tone still hushed so as to not wake Merlin.

Gaius sat up abruptly and looked to Gwaine questioningly. Gaius saw the open door to Merlin's room and Gwaine's, not angry but...agitated and...scared expression. He quickly put together the pieces and replied.

"Merlin was inured in the fire."

"Why has no one told me? Has he been like this the whole time?!"

Gaius' reply was cut short as the door burst open, revealing Leon, Mordred, and Percival.

"We were on our way to find you to go over some fighting techniques like we had planned, when we heard a pair of servants gossiping about Merlin." Mordred explained to Gwaine.

"Is it true?" Percival asked.

"Why didn't you tell us, Gwaine?" Leon questioned.

"I only just found out myself," Gwaine replied. "Nobody told me either."

"So it is true?" Mordred asked. "Merlin is...blind?"

They all looked to Gaius, hoping desperately not to hear the answer they all knew was coming. "Yes, I'm afraid is it true."

All of the knights' spirits dropped in despair. No, it couldn't be true. It was an awful fate for anyone to have to suffer, but Merlin? Of all people, why Merlin? What had he done, besides jump into the fire to save a helpless child, and then do so again for Arthur? Merlin didn't deserve this. But Life didn't work that way. Life would take and give as it pleased, not stopping to listen or care about the destruction and sorrow it left behind it everywhere it went. Life and Death were partners. Giving only so that the other could take away.

"Not only that," Gaius added. "But he has developed a fever that will take his life in a matter of weeks unless something is done." The knights faces seemed to crumple as they heard this. It couldn't be true. And yet it was. It was staring them right in the face.

"Gaius?" A voice asked from behind the door. "I wanted to talk with you about what the druid said about Mer-" Arthur cut himself off short as he entered the room and saw all of the knights in there.

"Is there any cure?" Mordred asked in earnest, diverting the attention away from Arthur.

"Arthur has learnt of one, but nothing is certain yet. It is rumoured to be able to cure Merlin." All of the knights felt the relief wash over them in calm and blissful waves when they heard this.

"I was going to tell you all about it today and embark upon a quest to find it tomorrow, but it seems you found out before I had the chance. The cure is a bracelet hidden deep within the mountains of Elzgarath." Arthur said.

"Elzgarath?" Gwaine repeated. Arthur nodded his head in response.

"I've been in those mountains before." Gwaine stated. "I didn't get far though, until I had to turn back. It's full of wretched beasts and jungles."

"But we'll do whatever it takes to it takes to save Merlin." Leon said. All of the knights nodded in affirmation as Gaius felt a bout of pride swell up in his chest. It was proved yet again that Merlin's love and warmth seemed to be mutual with almost everyone he came in contact with.

"What?!" A hoarse and croaky voice sounded from the back of the room, and everyone looked immediately to where it came from.

"Merlin!" Sure enough, there was Merlin, hanging onto the door for much needed support and looking as ill as ever, with the bandages that used to be wrapped tightly around his face falling off. His footing slipped and he started to tumble down the stairs. Everyone bolted forwards to catch him, and Gwaine being closest, managed to catch him in his arms before he fell completely.

Gwaine felt Merlin jump and tense up in surprise from the sudden contact, but then felt him relax a bit once he realized what had happened.

"What are you doing up?" Gwaine scolded.

"I heard voices." Merlin admitted drowsily before he suddenly was emerged in an intense coughing fit. Gwaine was not at all impressed at how light Merlin was as he carefully picked him up and carried him down the rest of the stairs, before gently laying him down upon Gaius' bed. Once the fierce bout of coughing was over, and Merlin had regained control of his breathing, he tried to speak again.

"You can't go."

The knights were horrified by how awful Merlin sounded and looked. His voice was very hoarse and raspy, due to all of the smoke he had inhaled. Not to mention how shaky it was. It quavered with every word that he said, just like his body. You could see his chest rise and fall deeply and rapidly with every unsteady breath that he took and released.

The bandages were still wrapped around his eyes, but they were sweat soaked becoming undone. His black hair was a mess, also sweat soaked and matted down in various places, due to how he had slept on it. His face and lips were much paler than usual and looked clammy and cold. And still, when Merlin had a life threatening fever and was _blind_, he was still trying to protect them! He heard that there was a cure, that he could live! And he told them to stay. Merlin was truly the most selfless person any of them had ever met.

"We have to, Merlin. You'll die if we don't." Arthur persuaded.

"It's too," Another coughing fit took temporarily took control over Merlin's deathly looking body, but it was much shorter this time. "Too dangerous." He leaned his head back in fatigue and pain.

"Merlin, we have to," Arthur said again.

"It's our duty," It was Leon speaking that time.

"As knights," Then Percival.

"And as your friends." Then it was Mordred.

"You're dear to all of us, Merlin. We're not going to lose you." Gwaine finished.

A ghost of a smile danced across Merlin's partially hidden face that made everyone in the room feel happy again for a second. The happy feeling left as soon as it came though, when the smile soon turned into a grimace, as agony was visibly etched across Merlin's features. "Please? Please...don't go." With that last plea and a couple more coughs and wheezes, Merlin relaxed and drifted into unconsciousness.

Everyone in the room, besides Merlin, wiped away the tears that had been welling up and falling down from their eyes. After a few seconds of sniffling Leon broke the silence.

"Sire, when you came in, you were speaking of a druid saying something about Merlin. What were you talking about?"

Mordred tensed with discomfort and worry of what Leon had just asked. _How much had Arthur found out?_

Arthur noticed Mordred's reaction and retold the story of his encounter with Brengad, and all of the knights, save Mordred, stood there, puzzled at what the druid man had said. Arthur also noticed that Mordred wasn't as confused as the rest of them, and made a mental not to question him about that later.

Gaius gathered some cleaning supplies and fresh cloths and then moved over to Merlin to change his bandages. He gasped in surprise and dismay when he took the coverings off.

"What is it?" Arthur asked when he heard Gaius' gasp.

All of the knights took a few steps towards Merlin and collectively took a gasp when they saw his face. It had obviously become infected. The scorched skin was red with blood and yellow around some areas from pus that was oozing out, due to the infection. Gaius quickly stood up and gathered some various bottles, and gave orders to Mordred to get a bowl of hot water. Once everything that Gaius needed was on a table right next to the bed, Gaius set to work.

He poured a large amount of a bottle's contents onto a cloth, and began dabbing it on Merlin's infected areas. Everyone cringed as they heard Merlin cry out in the pain that the medicine had induced. Merlin began to whimper pitifully at the agonizing pain and started to thrash back and forth, trying to get Gaius to stop. Percival and Arthur held Merlin's legs down while Leon pressed his hands against Merlin's torso, trying to keep him still. Gwaine went to Merlin's side and held his hands, hoping to provide some sort of comfort to the distressed man. Merlin cried out in pain again and tried with all of his might to get away from the knights' grasp, while squeezing Gwaine's hand so hard until his fingernails drew blood.

Gaius couldn't clean Merlin's face when he was turning it from side to side so much, so Mordred stood at the top of the bed and put his hands on either side of Merlin's head, trying to keep him still so that Gaius could do his job properly. Gaius grabbed another bottle from the table and pinched Merlin's nose shut as he forced the contents of the bottle down Merlin's throat. Merlin stopped thrashing around as fiercely as he had before, but it was still necessary for the knights to restrain him. Everyone was surprised at how strong Merlin was, especially in his condition.

After Gaius had spread a large amount of honey over the burns, he moved onto Merlin arm, and then his wrist. By the time Gaius had reached Merlin's wrist, the sedative that they had given Merlin took it's hold, causing the restless young man to fall into a deeper and calmer state of unconsciousness, allowing the knights to release their hold.

After Gaius had finished tending to Merlin, he noticed the blood on Gwaine's hand from when Merlin's had cut him.

"Here, let me see that, Gwaine." Gaius said.

Gwaine pulled his hand back slightly. "No, it's fine. I'm alright." Gwaine didn't want to be treated for this. After seeing what Merlin was going through, he could deal with a cut hand. It was nothing compared to what Merlin was and would continue to face.

"When we're on the quest, you're going to need to be in full condition." Persuaded Leon.

Gwaine gave in, knowing that it wouldn't help Merlin at all if he didn't let Gaius help him. He walked towards Gaius and let his hand get cleaned and bandaged. The bandages were fully wrapped around his hand, stretching from the gap between his index finger and thumb, to the other side of his hand. He flexed his hand experimentally, and was pleased with the lack of restriction.

"I'll still be able to swing a sword?" He asked.

"Yes," Replied Gaius. "I want you to sleep with it on tonight, but you can take it off tomorrow before you leave."

Gwaine nodded his thanks, and then the knights shuffled out of the room heading off to the library to find a map that was necessary for their venture. They hated to leave Merlin, but there was nothing more they could do for him now, except prepare themselves for the hard journey that lay ahead.

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**I know that Morgana didn't take the Cup of Life in the show, but if she didn't in the story, then they could just use that to cure Merlin and there would be no quest. Where's the fun in that? So I improvised. Please leave a review and tell me what you thought of this chapter! BTW, I apologize for the lack of interesting things going on. Hopefully the pace will pick up a bit soon, and there will be enough Merlin!Whump in the meanwhile. :) **


	5. Chapter 5

**As I keep continuing with this story, I keep getting more ideas for actual plot, and not just angst. So, while this story is still (obviously) going to contain blind Merlin, there will also be more focus directed onto Arthur and his knights, particularly Mordred. And yes, I have plans for this to turn into an eventual reveal story.**

**Thanks so much for all of the reviews on this story! It's great to hear what you guys are thinking, so thanks a bunch.**

**3,685 words, not including author's notes.**

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After finding a suitable map, with the much needed help of Geoffrey the librarian, and choosing the quickest route to the mountains of Elzgarath, the knights headed off to carry out the training of their before mention fighting techniques, skipping breakfast along the way. None of them had any appetite left and they only put less than half of their usual effort into training that day. Their minds were still thinking about Merlin. Well, in Arthur's case Merlin and Mordred. Mordred was obviously hiding something, and Merlin was too. Arthur wondered how many more out of place things he would notice about the two men now that he was actually looking for something odd.

He was so confused, because while Merlin and Mordred were both obviously hiding something, it was plain to see that they were not on the best terms friendship wise. Merlin had always acted coldly towards Mordred, save for when Mordred was only a boy and Merlin helped smuggle him out of Camelot. Even when they met Mordred when they had been captured by the slave traders, Merlin had been a little more than upset when Arthur hadn't killed him.

He was almost certain that whatever Merlin was hiding was magical. It was the only explanations for the druids knowing of him and the magical scars all over his torso. He thought over all of the ridiculous excuses that Merlin had given him in the past. Had he really been so foolish to believe him? Merlin was clearly hiding something big that he either hadn't thought important enough to tell Arthur, or there was something even bigger than secret he had kept with him all of these years that stopped him from telling Arthur. Arthur knew that the former was definitely the most unlikely.

Most of the day passed in a blur. There was a council meeting, the lunch that he barely ate any of, some other kingly duties, and some free time that he had spent with Guinevere. He told her about the quest that he and the knights intended to go on, and she was put in charge until he returned. He was touched at the worry that was freely shown across her face, it was partly for Merlin and partly for Arthur, but mostly thankful that she didn't try to persuade him not to go like Merlin had.

Arthur shuddered at the thought of Merlin begging him and the knights not to go. He pushed the thoughts of Merlin out of his mind, but they kept recurring with more intensity each time. He moved to the window in his chambers and looked out at the setting sun. Dusk was falling upon Camelot, and it was a beautiful sight to behold. Soon enough though, his mind wouldn't let him think about the scenery and he began to think about Mordred and Merlin's relationship. This time, he welcomed the thoughts, thinking that he might come to a conclusion of some sort if he actually spent enough time thinking about it.

Arthur went through all of the reasons that Merlin might have not to like Mordred. After a while of pondering, he still couldn't think of anything. Mordred was a pretty likable guy! Except...is it possible that Merlin's jealous? It is true that Merlin had been known to act that way is the past. Like when he had come back after he was injured in the bandit's attack. Guinevere had served Arthur lunch that day to give Merlin a break, and Merlin seemed a tad bit flustered. And it is also true that Arthur had been spending more time with Mordred than Merlin recently.

Arthur felt somewhat ashamed when he realized what he was considering. Merlin wouldn't act this way because he was jealous. No, there was something else. And his jealousy theory still didn't explain the scars. But, were the scars and Mordred even connected? Arthur sighed in frustration. He clearly wasn't going to get far in finding an answer until he had more facts at his disposal.

Wait a second. Arthur's eyes widened a little in realization as the pieces seemed to finally click together in his mind. Merlin doesn't like Mordred. In fact, he seems to dislike him quite a bit. Merlin also has scars from magical wounds that had been inflicted upon him in the past. Mordred is likely a sorcerer, or at least was a sorcerer, who probably has the power to inflict magical wounds that just so happen to leave scars.

Arthur tried to shake these thoughts from his head. No, Mordred wouldn't do that to Merlin. Besides, what reason would he have to do that anyway? Mordred was too kind to do that. But then again, he had been a slave trader. He couldn't afford to be a kind person in that kind of business. No, he couldn't bring himself to believe that Mordred was responsible for Merlin's scars.

When he was finally fed up with making obscure guesses from the little information that he possessed, Arthur gathered up enough courage and ordered a guard to send word to Mordred to meet him in his chambers. They needed to talk.

When Mordred finally arrived, Arthur was seated at a table, and the chair opposite of him was scooted out from under it.

"Please, sit." Arthur said with his right hand gesturing towards the chair. Mordred did as he was told to, and sat in the chair, all the while absentmindedly rubbing the end of the chain mail with his fingers out of nervousness. Arthur noticed this along with the rest of Mordred's tense and anxious demeanor, and wondered if he would have picked up on it if he hadn't been searching for it.

"I wanted to talk to you about earlier today, when I spoke of my conversation with the druid." Arthur stated.

"What about it, sire?" Mordred asked, trying his best to keep his voice even and steady. Mordred knew something was up, and suspected that Arthur was getting a bit too curious about Brengad's talk of Merlin. Even if the feeling wasn't mutual, Merlin _was_ still Mordred's friend, and Mordred didn't want to betray him. Mordred had no intention of doing so, but was worried for his friendship with Arthur if he didn't tell the truth.

"You're a druid." Arthur stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. "Have you heard any sort of...stories, from a seer perhaps, of Merlin?" Arthur almost scoffed at what he had just said, but contained himself as he remembered that when it came to Merlin, anything was possible.

Mordred gulped anxiously and searched furiously for an answer that didn't sound suspicious. "_Was_ a druid." He corrected. Damn, that wasn't the right answer. Now not only was he completely forsaking his people and drawing more attention than necessary to the the fact the he had been raised with the druids, he was avoiding the question, which would not look good at all. Great job, Mordred.

"Right," Arthur agreed. "_Was_ a druid." Arthur paused for a little while before asking his question again, this time with a little different phrasing. "During your time with them, did they mention him at all?"

"I can't say I've heard the name." Mordred replied. It was kind of the truth. He _had_ heard of Merlin, almost every druid child did! They were common bedtime stories, stories of the man who would help The Once and Future King unite the land of Albion and bring peace once again to everyone, sorcerers and not-sorcerers alike. But the tales had been told only with the name of Emrys, not Merlin.

"Mordred," Arthur said while leaning forward. "I need the truth. Please, you can tell me."

Mordred sighed. Maybe he could still get out of this somehow. Not likely. Well, maybe he could just tell some of the truth, and have Arthur not know that there's more to be told. Mordred sighed again.

"You can't let Merlin know that I told you this." Mordred said, his voice deepened and in a hushed tone. He winced at the thought of Merlin finding out about the conversation that he was about to have with the king. That would surely ruin any chance of a friendship that he had with him.

Arthur nodded in agreement as he felt his stomach tighten and twist in knots with anticipation. Finally, he would have some answers. And he would find out more about Merlin. He kept getting surprised at how little he knew about him. Merlin was much more mysterious and secretive than Arthur had never noticed over the past eight years of knowing him.

"There are stories," Mordred explained. "Of a man who would stand by your side, as your adviser, protector, and friend and help you unite the five kingdoms, and bring peace to the land."

"And the druids believe this man to be Merlin?"

Mordred nodded. "You cannot do it alone. You need Merlin beside you, or what you hope to accomplish can never happen."

Arthur leaned back in his chair with a look of astonishment on his face. "Does Merlin know what they say about him?"

Mordred shook his head. "That I can't say."

Arthur didn't know if he meant that he wouldn't say it, or if he just didn't know.

"Is there anything else?" Arthur asked.

Mordred shook his head silently.

"Thank you, Mordred. You've been most informative." Arthur said this with a quick smile of thanks, before Mordred stood up from his chair, bowed, and then left the room without another word, thankful that the tense conversation was over.

Arthur was very perplexed now. Yes, questions had been answered, but now he had so many more to ask. And he knew Mordred was still hiding something. He wished that he could talk to Merlin about it. Thinking about the state that Merlin was in caused the seemingly never ending waves of guilt crashing upon Arthur yet again. He buried his face in the palms of his hands and rested his elbows on the table, clenching fistfuls of his blonde hair tightly and contemplated over his most recent conversation with Mordred.

He stood up and pulled a chair over to the window where he usually sat when he needed to think. He had ruled out the possibility of Mordred harming Merlin soon after their conversation had ended. Besides, now that he had new things to regard, that was no longer the only probable option. Mordred said that Merlin served as his protector. Could that be where he had gotten the scars? Arthur didn't think that likely, since he nothing to fight back with. Merlin could hardly wield a sword, he couldn't be expected to fight off sorcerers in his spare time! No, he spent his spare time in the tavern. Arthur almost face palmed himself with that thought as he let out a gasp of realization. All those times that Merlin had been in the tavern, what had he actually been doing? Saving Arthur's life? Almost getting killed? Most likely.

A memory returned to Arthur. It was when Guinevere had been possessed by Morgana and Merlin was missing. When he finally returned he was walking with a limp. How had he gained that? And Guinevere said that he had gone to see a girl which Merlin had denied at first. Had Guinevere tried to hurt Merlin and used Merlin's fake lady friend for an excuse? It was the only thing that made sense. So, Morgana must have seen Merlin as enough of a threat to have Guinevere try to assassinate him. If they went through all of that trouble to try to get rid of Merlin, then he must be a very large problem for Morgana's evil plots and schemes. And Merlin managing to escape them is only more proof of his capability!

Arthur began to think of all of those idiotic excuses, all of those times at the tavern, all of those times that he was just collecting herbs for Gaius. Had he really been fighting Arthur's enemies the whole time? How many enemies had Arthur had without even knowing that they were in fact, his enemies? Merlin had known of Agravaine's betrayal before anyone else. And before Arthur had discovered the truth about Morgana, he had noticed Merlin being colder towards her. A thought struck Arthur that made his blood run cold.

Merlin's been acting cold towards Mordred also. Is Mordred really evil? Has he been fooling everyone but Merlin this whole time? Was Arthur just as blind to him as he had been Morgana? Arthur had had no idea about Morgana, and even though he'd had doubts about his uncle in the past, they had been wiped away completely. But Merlin knew. Merlin always knew. If he knew then, why wouldn't he know now? It was the only explanation for his behavior towards Mordred.

But...Arthur had just spoken with Mordred. He seemed so kind and trustworthy. He couldn't really be evil...could he? Arthur began to attempt to push these thoughts from his mind before he stopped. No. He had to think this through. He couldn't just ignore it and turn a blind eye anymore. Especially now that Merlin needed his help. If Mordred was a danger, Arthur needed to know before anyone got hurt.

If Merlin had associations with the druids, maybe there was a seer there that had told him about Mordred. If. If he had associations. Arthur didn't even know if Merlin knew anything about the stories and prophecies and whatnot! But then again, it's very possible that Merlin does know. He had told him the story of Excalibur before Arthur pulled it from the stone. Maybe it actually was true after all.

Speaking of swords, that leads to Merlin fighting skills. Could he actually use a sword? Was it just a grand illusion that Merlin used to fool other people into thinking that he was weak? Arthur supposed that that could make sense. It wasn't a half bad plan. But for eight years? For eight years, Merlin had been Arthur's servant. For eight years, he let himself be perceived as a bumbling idiot who wasn't really capable of anything besides talking. Had it all been a lie? Was there another person behind the mask that Arthur didn't know of? But, could Arthur blame him for lying? To have a destiny planned out for you. To have to serve and protect someone no matter what the cost. It would make sense if Merlin felt like he couldn't reveal his true self in front of people, even if they were his friends.

To serve and protect someone no matter the cost. That's exactly what Merlin had been doing for eight years and the night of the fire. Serving and protecting Arthur no matter the cost. Even if the cost was his vision.

Arthur felt the need to bang his head against the window many times in frustration. Looking at all of these things from a different perspective really showed him how little control he had. It was quite annoying and at the same time, nice to know that it's not all up to you. There are some things that you really just can't control. But was that a good thing, or a bad? If Arthur didn't have control, who did? Merlin? Morgana? Fate and Destiny?

There were still too many "ifs" at play, and Arthur needed answers. If Mordred couldn't be trusted, than he could hardly go on the quest with them. But Arthur couldn't leave him in the castle. Guinevere was there. And while she was quite capable with taking care of herself, it didn't feel safe enough for Arthur. But he did know Mordred couldn't be on the quest with them. Not with how much was at stake.

Before he could make any decisions, he desperately needed more answers. He just wished that Merlin were well enough to give them to him. Gaius! Gaius lived with Merlin! He must know something else! Arthur stood up abruptly and made his way to Gaius' chambers, preparing for interrogation.

When he finally reached the door, he opened it quietly and looked around. Merlin had been moved back to his own bed, an Gaius was sitting at his desk, hunched over some books and loose papers. There were candles lit all around the room, giving a kind of eerie look to the place and making it glow a soft and dim orange colour. Gaius looked up when he heard the door open.

"Arthur?" He asked.

"Yes, it's me. I have some more questions."

Gaius sighed heavily and put down the book that he was reading. "Take a seat." He said while gesturing to an empty chair. After Arthur did so Gaius continued talking. "What was it that you wanted to know?" Gaius knew that the questions would come sooner or later. He had just hoped that it would be the latter of the two. It would seem not.

"Mordred." Arthur replied steadily. "Merlin doesn't trust him. Why?"

"These are not my stories to tell, sire. I can't give away information that's not mine!"

Arthur resisted the urge to roll his eyes. How many times would he hear that? "I know, Gaius. But it's important. It's not for my own curiosity that I'm asking this. It's for the safety of Merlin. I need to know." Arthur looked at the trouble old man. He was obviously debating with himself either if or if not to tell, or how much to say and how much to withhold. From what Arthur knew, Merlin was hiding something big. But how big could it be? Why was there so much trouble brought along with it?

After a long pause, Gaius finally complied. "It had been prophesied that by the hands of a druid, Camelot will fall into destruction, and you will meet your end."

"And Merlin thinks that this druid is Mordred?"

Gaius nodded his head in response. "As do many others."

"Why?"

"Why not?" Gaius said. "He's here in the castle. He's one of your most trusted knights. He's had every opportunity to-"

Arthur cut him off. "To what? To kill me? Then why hasn't he already? You said it yourself, he's had every opportunity." Talking about Mordred with Gaius, made Arthur feel almost guilty for doubting Mordred before. He's the one who saved him from the Disir's spear in that cave. And he also saved him by stabbing Morgana in the mines. He has proved himself to be a loyal and courageous knight time and time again.

"I am only telling you of Merlin's concerns, sire." Gaius reassured.

"Of course. I'm sorry for losing my temper."

"There are many who say that it is Mordred's destiny to harm you and Camelot. It is Merlin's destiny to protect those things. He's just doing what he sees right, Arthur. You can't blame him for that."

Arthur nodded his head slightly in agreement and understanding. He was befuddled even more than he had been before he came though, and he still hadn't really learnt anything new. Wait. Except for what Gaius had said at the beginning. _By the hands of a druid, Camelot will fall into destruction, and you will meet your end._ Would Mordred really kill him and Camelot?

And all this talk of destiny. Gaius made Merlin sound like this grand and mighty protector. Maybe he really was all of that. It made Arthur feel very pathetic. Whenever he had done something good and beneficial to the kingdom, there were scores of people there to witness it and give him praise. Arthur didn't deny that he practically basked in that praise and glory. From what he heard, Merlin had the same job as he did. He was practically a co-king! Except his job was much harder because he had to do it all in secret. Not to mention Arthur was literally born to be king. He was raised for this job. Merlin wasn't. Or, was he?

A thought struck Arthur. Was Merlin a druid? He had never seen a tattoo, but had he ever actually seen Merlin's wrists? Arthur had heard of druids picking children as babies and raising them for a certain purpose. Merlin definitely had a purpose and had something to do with magic, of that Arthur was sure.

"Can I see Merlin?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, just be sure not to wake him." Gaius answered.

Arthur eagerly walked up the steps to Merlin's room. He was both hoping that Merlin wasn't a druid because, you know, magic users are bad, and hoping that he was a druid, because if he was it would certainly answer lots of questions.

When he reached the door, he slowly eased it open, ignoring the creaky sounds coming from it. He sat in the chair that was still by Merlin's bed, and slowly and very, very nervously, reached to Merlin's arm. When his fingers touched Merlin's skin, he was surprised by how utterly cold it was, but he kept going. He held Merlin's hand with one of his own, and used his other hand to slowly and carefully ease the shirt sleeve further up his arm. Arthur closed his eyes and held his breath, and then finally gathered the courage to open his eyes. Merlin's wrist was blank. Arthur released his breath in relief and turned Merlin's wrist over a few times, inspecting it carefully. He checked the other one and seeing that it was also free of any tattoo, felt like jumping for joy.

Even though Arthur had seen him without his shirt on just a short while ago, he double checked around Merlin's neck and chest for the druid tattoos, but still, none appeared.

He leant back in his chair and couldn't help but smiling at the thought of Merlin being a sorcerer. Sure it may have been a plausible explanation, but if Arthur really thought about it, he knew that everything couldn't have been a trick and a lie. Merlin was still that cheeky and clumsy idiot that he had always been. There was no room for any type of sorcery in there. Arthur kept smiling in relief and satisfaction. It was quite simple really. Magic was evil. Merlin was not. Therefor, Merlin does not have magic. Problem solved!

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**Oh, Arthur. So close, yet so far away. Please review and tell me what you thought of this chapter! Do you want more dialogue written into here? Dialogue is hard for me, because I worry so much about making them OOC, but if you want more of it, I don't mind trying to squeeze some in in the empty spaces here and there. Review and tell me, please!**


	6. Chapter 6

**So, it took me about a month to post this. :| Sorry. It didn't come very easily and I still feel kind of discontent with it, plus most of it was written mostly through the hours of 12:00 am to 7:00 am last night, er, earlier today, so please forgive any mistakes or OOC-ness. And for some strange reason I kept imaging the tenth Doctor when I was writing Merlin and Arthur. Probably because I had just watched Midnight.**

Anyways, I would like to thank you all for sticking with me and waiting for this chapter. It's still kind of hard to believe that 72 users are following this. So, thanks a bunch you guys! **And as an apology for taking so long and a thank you for waiting so nicely and sticking with me, I present to you my longest chapter for this story yet.**

**Word Count: 4,691, excluding author's notes.**

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Arthur awoke to the sound of birds chirping. It was rather loud and obnoxious chirping if you were to ask him, and it was being sounded much too early in the morning. He opened his eyes and immediately closed them again when the sunlight streaming though window made contact with them. He groaned as he stood up and tried to shake all of the creakiness out of his stiff joints. He had fallen asleep in the chair by Merlin's bed and his body was really not okay with that decision. 

After drowsily looking around at his surroundings and remembering why he wasn't in his own chambers, he walked to the door while ignoring the tingling sensation spreading throughout his legs due to his blood flowing back into proper circulation. Once he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw that Gaius was still sleeping. He made an effort to walk as quietly as possible out of the room, as to not disturb the sleeping old man. His mission was successful, and he made his way down the halls of his castle to his room. 

Arthur loved walking about the castle at dawn. The people were just starting to tend to their work, and a somewhat calming feeling of peace overtook him when he watched the hustle and bustle of the day begin.

Once he reached his room, there was a servant already waiting for him (Thankfully for Arthur's sake, not George.) with breakfast on the table and his clothes laid over the changing screen. Arthur quickly ate and got dressed. He had a trying day ahead of him and he couldn't help but feel that he was unprepared somehow. He shrugged off the feeling and thought about what he needed to do. He had meant to do it last night, but he seemed to have drifted off into sleep before he had the chance. He needed to talk to Mordred...again. 

Arthur was at a loss of what to do when it concerned Mordred. Was he really out to kill Arthur? If so, it didn't seem safe to have him accompany himself and the knights of the quest, but it felt even less safe to leave him at the castle with Guinevere and Merlin. Especially Merlin. Guinevere could take care of herself for the most part, and she was the queen. She had guards with her at almost all times. But Merlin, Merlin is able to hold his own with a sword against most bandits and ruffians that they encounter in the woods. But Mordred is a trained knight, not to mention that Merlin's blind now. Arthur still couldn't entirely wrap his mind around that concept. Merlin. Blind. The two words just didn't really fit in a sentence together.

So it felt downright dangerous to leave Merlin anywhere near the castle. He sighed when he reached Mordred's quarters. He hesitated slightly before he knocked loudly on the thick, wooden door, and entered when he heard Mordred answer. 

Arthur opened the door and peeked his head through before stepping fully into the room. 

"Sire," Mordred said with a slight bow of his head. 

Arthur waved his hand dismissively before speaking. "I need to talk to you about the Merlin's quest." 

"What about it?" 

"You're needed elsewhere. You won't be able to accompany us." 

Mordred couldn't help but let his face and entire demeanor fall when he heard these words. What had he done wrong? He was finally coming to terms with Merlin's distrust, but now Arthur, too? He tried to clear these thoughts from his head. Maybe Arthur really did just need him somewhere else. He was a knight after all. It would make sense if he had more important things to do. But really, this is Arthur we're talking about. More important than Merlin? "Where do you need me to go?" 

"There's a village by the western border that is claiming signs of sorcery. You're to go investigate it with Sir Arnold and Sir Coleville." 

_Of all the bogus excuses_. It was now clear that Arthur just didn't trust him. It was as plain and simple as that. Anyone could help them poke around an old village. It didn't make sense to take Mordred off of the quest for Merlin, which was much more important than some sneezing and coughs in some random village. It didn't make sense unless Mordred was somehow a danger or liability to them. 

"What have I done?" Mordred couldn't stop his voice from wavering slightly. "If I have wronged you in some way, please tell me so that I may fix it!" 

"You haven't done anything wrong." Arthur tried to reassure.

"Then why? Why does Merlin hate me? Why do you distrust me so?" Mordred stopped his outburst and lowered his gaze to the floor. "I'm sorry, my lord. I spoke out of turn." After a small pause he continued. "If there's nothing more that you require, I'll prepare for the journey with Sir Arnold and Coleville." With that Mordred bowed politely and left the room, wiping away the tears that had been welling up in his eyes once he was out of Arthur's line of view. 

Arthur sighed in frustration. Was this all just an act? Was Mordred really out to kill him and take over Camelot? It was hard to believe, but Arthur still couldn't rule anything out. And maybe Mordred wanted it to be hard to believe. Maybe this had been his plan all along. If he was in league with Morgana, she would tell him how to earn a spot in the king's heart. Morgana knew Arthur too well.

* * *

After he had been properly dressed in his chain mail and armour with Excalibur strapped safely to his hip, Arthur met with Guinevere. He warned her that Mordred shouldn't be back for a few days, and told her to try to keep him as far away from Camelot as possible until Arthur's return. She asked him why, but he didn't tell her. He kissed her tenderly on her cheek and they said their goodbyes. After one more heartfelt hug, it was almost time to depart and Arthur had just one more thing he needed to do. He left her in her private quarters and made his way to Merlin's. When he got there, the main door and the door to Merlin's room were already open. He went inside and looked around. Gaius wasn't there, but he could see someone holding Merlin's hand through the open door. 

"Just...just get better, alright?" 

That voice wasn't Gaius'. It was Gwaine's. "Get better for me, and for Gaius, and for all the knights. But especially for Arthur. He needs you." His voice was breaking and uncharacteristically high from crying. "We all need you. And if you can't get better on your own, then hold on for us. We won't let you down, I swear." 

Arthur walked further into the room and heard Gwaine sniff a little before standing up. The king quickly darted behind one of the tables to avoid being seen by him. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but Gwaine was obviously having a personal and private minute with Merlin. Arthur didn't want to spoil that. He held his breath as he saw Gwaine walk from the room while wiping tears from his eyes. He closed the door softly behind him and Arthur didn't move until he could no longer hear Gwaine's footsteps receding down the hall.

Arthur stood up cautiously and walked up the stairs to Merlin's room. There was a wet cloth draped over his forehead and, not surprisingly, bandages wrapped tightly across his face. Arthur couldn't help but smile as memories of the past years flitted across his mind, mainly the more amusing memories. Like how sometimes Merlin would get up before breakfast to search for woodworm in Arthur's bed. He wondered if that was just an idiotic excuse to keep from getting caught from sneaking around, or if his servant really just was a wee bit mental and liked to search for woodworm in his spare time. Arthur preferred the latter of the two options. 

"I'm sorry, Merlin. I'm so, so sorry." Arthur whispered gently. "I'll fix this. You'll get better, I promise." He picked up the cloth on Merlin's head and soaked it in the bowl of water that was on a table beside him. He wrung it out and began dabbing Merlin's face and neck with it, before placing it back onto his forehead. He picked up his hand in his and placed it in between his.

"I'll be back before you know it. You'll be cleaning my room in no time." Arthur waited for a second before continuing. "Just wait long enough for us to come back. Please, Merlin. Hold on." He saw Merlin's mouth form into a grimace and feared that he had agitated his sensitive skin when he was dabbing it with the cloth. Merlin opened his mouth slightly but no words came out.

"Water," Arthur muttered. He ran down the stairs and quickly filled a cup with water and brought it up to Merlin. He held the cup in his right hand and slid his left hand under Merlin's head, propping it up slightly. He slowly poured the cool liquid down Merlin's throat and was pleased to see Merlin swallowing it without a fuss. Arthur placed his head back down on his pillow when Merlin started spluttering it back out, unable to take in any more. Merlin coughed wretchedly as Arthur put the cup on the table and tried to calm Merlin down a bit. After he had calmed and his coughing had temporarily subsided, Arthur dried some of the spilt water with a towel.

He allowed himself a few minutes to stay there before he forced himself to leave. He was already late and the sooner he and the knights got moving the better. He stood at the doorway and looked back at Merlin again before turning again and leaving. 

If he had stayed just a few seconds longer he would of heard Merlin whisper his name. 

* * *

Arthur met up with the knights in the courtyard where there was a horse waiting for him. They were already all there and mounted with supplies ready for departure. Arthur hefted himself upon Torento and made a quick scan to make sure that he had everything he needed. Yup, it was all there. Still though, he knew that this whole trip would feel empty without Merlin there. Mordred being gone would make a difference too. Speaking of which... 

"Where's Mordred?" Percival asked. 

"He couldn't come with us." Arthur said grimly while looking at Gwaine. If Arthur hadn't just seen him doing so, he never would've guessed that Gwaine had been in tears not only ten minutes ago. 

No one commented on Mordred's absence. It was obvious to see that Arthur was disappointed with it and no one wanted to nor felt the need to press things further. They had just started to spur their horses forwards away from the castle when they heard a voice that made them all stop instantaneously.

* * *

Blackness. There was just an echoing chasm that contained only darkness, pain, dreams and voices. So many voices. It felt like an eternity that Merlin spent there, drifting briefly in and out of consciousness. Eventually though, he heard a voice. It wasn't screaming or cruel like the others that he had been trapped with. It sounded familiar. 

"We're going to leave soon. To go on the quest for the amulet." There was a pause, and Merlin wanted nothing more than for the comforting voice to keep talking, but he couldn't find the strength within him say anything. Then the voice continued. "People say that people can hear you if you speak to them when they're sick. If that's true, please listen to me, Merlin. Just...just get better, alright? Get better for me, get better for Gaius, and for all the knights. But especially for Arthur. He needs you. We all need you. And if you can't get better on your own, then hold on for us. We won't let you down, I swear." 

Merlin was comforted by these words, even though in his state of incoherence he had no idea what they meant. But it was soothing nonetheless, which is why he really hated to hear the footsteps of the man leaving the room.

Merlin could feel himself start to drift away again. His mind seemed to distance itself from the rest of him as he began to wander into the depths of the black chasm again. He was abruptly pulled away from his slipping into sleep when he heard another voice talking.

"I'm sorry, Merlin. I'm so, so sorry." This voice was different. It was softer. Less rough than the one before. "I'll fix this. You'll get better, I promise." Merlin felt the coolness of water on his skin as his visitor dabbed his fevered face and neck with a wet cloth. He vaguely wondered who it was who was doing this. "I'll be back before you know it. You'll be cleaning my room in no time." There was more hesitation now. "Just wait long enough for us to come back. Please, Merlin. Hold on." 

Arthur. Something clicked in Merlin's drowsy mind as he made the connection between Arthur and the voice. He couldn't help but grin slightly at Arthur's joking behavior. Ha! Like he was doing any cleaning any time soon. He opened his mouth to say this, but he couldn't get his voice to work. His throat felt like it was on fire and it only burnt worse when Merlin tried to talk. He fell into despair when he heard Arthur whisper something and then leave, but his hopes were quickly renewed when he came back again just as quickly as he'd left. He felt his head being lifted up and tried to protest, but soon stopped when he felt water reach his lips. He had only been trying to talk, he hadn't actually wanted water at all. But it did offer his throat some comfort from the fierce burning, so he gladly accepted.

Soon enough, there was too much water, and Merlin found himself spitting it back out again and falling into another coughing fit. That had done just _wonders _for his throat and lungs. When it was over, he then felt a towel being pressed against his chest, soaking up the spilt water he supposed. He tried to form words again, but any help that the water had provided had just been taken away by the coughing scratching up his throat again. 

He spent the rest of the time that Arthur was by him trying to say something, anything, but the words just didn't seem to form. His heart sank when he heard Arthur standing up. He felt so alone. He needed someone with him. He heard Arthur's footfalls pause, and tried desperately to speak, and only succeeded in barely whispering his name after Arthur had already left the room. 

He slumped down in his bed, content just to lie there in his somewhat delusional state and mope, but then he started to wake up more and begin to more fully enter the world of consciousness. He remembered the earlier voice, the first one, before Arthur came in. He recognized it now as Gwaine's. He had said that they were leaving to go find an amulet. 

Any willpower that Merlin had had just minutes ago when he was trying to get Arthur to hear him was magnified tenfold as he became increasingly more panicked. Even though he was conscious now, at least more than he was before, he still was having a difficult time remembering why he was injured in the first place, why the knights were going on a quest for him.

And then it hit him. Suddenly all of the memories of the fire and the knights talking in the room downstairs came back to him. Merlin struggled to keep his breathing under control as he started to hyperventilate. He might be fully conscious now but he was still kind of out of it. He stumbled out of bed and fell to the floor on his hands and knees, trying and failing to ignore the pain radiating from his broken wrist. 

He reached his hands forward until they touched the bed. He used this to hoist himself up and stood there for a second or two, trying to regain his balance. Once he felt sure that he could walk again for awhile without falling over, he began moving to where he thought the door was. He kept tracing his hand over his bed as he moved along, but once he was past the edge of it, he had to stumble around a bit and blindly move forward towards the door with his arms outstretched in front of him.

Thankfully, Arthur had closed the door behind him, so Merlin successfully found it and opened it without falling headfirst down the stairs, carefully gripping onto the wall as he made his way down them. He just barely made it to the bottom of the stairs before his legs gave out from underneath him. He found the nearest wall and leant against it, panting with intense pain that seemed to burn everywhere. He couldn't wander about the castle like this, Merlin knew that. But he had to get to Arthur before he left.

It could just be Merlin's fever, forcing him to feel like he needs to stop the knights before they go. Or, it could be Merlin's magic instinctively working up inside of him, warning him. Whichever one it was, Merlin was determined. And not much could stop him when he felt that his friends were in danger. 

He forced himself to stand up, groaning and gritting his teeth in pain. He leant against the wall, trying with all of his might to not fall down again. He tried to take deep breaths and calm himself down, but each second that passed just reminded him that Arthur was going further away from him.

His mind's eye. Queen Mab had told him to use it once, and it had worked quite well. Merlin took the bandages off and let them fall to the floor, trying and failing again to ignore the pain. He slowly opened his eyes, but they were so swollen that he couldn't really open them more than a crack. But a crack was all that he needed. He still couldn't see anything, but once he muttered the spell, there was just the faintest outline of shapes and shadows. I guess the magic brought something of his sight back. 

Merlin looked around and calculated the steps to the door, making sure to notice what was likely for him to trip on. The magic of the spell faded away, leaving Merlin sightless again. He pushed himself forward from the wall and started walking to the other side of the room, crying out with pain as his broken wrist impacted with the corner of a table. 

Once he had finally left the room, he tumbled down the stairs outside the door, effectively bonking his head against the wall. That was the worst of the damage though, and Merlin had much more important things to worry about than whether it would bruise or not. He fought away sleeping and exhaustion as he carried on like this for as long as he could, running his hands against the walls of the castle halls and muttering the spell again when he needed to know where to turn. Finally, he made it to the exit doors of the castle. He cringed as the wind blew against his burns when he stepped outside, but kept walking forward, preparing himself for the first step in the stairs.

He heard Leon urge his horse to walk and the clicking steps of multiple horses hooves against the stone. Merlin all but collapsed from the draining feeling that took over him when he muttered the spell under his breath again. He saw the horses riding away, but he knew that he couldn't make it down the stairs. Running around the castle and using magic in his state of exhaustion had taken its toll on Merlin. "Wait!" He called. His voice was hoarse, and his raw throat wasn't grateful in the least for the yelling. It showed this by even fiercer burning. It felt like fire licking around inside of him. 

The knights all turned around just in time to see Merlin begin to fall, only to catch himself at the last moment by gripping onto the rail for dear life. "Merlin!" They immediately dismounted and ran towards Merlin as fast as they could. They reached him in a matter of seconds, and it was obvious that Merlin was about to pass out. 

"Merlin, lie down." Arthur instructed. He enveloped Merlin in his arms and gently laid him down upon the steps, propping his neck up against the rail. "What are you doing out here?" He couldn't help the anger in his voice, but it by no means masked the overwhelming concern. 

"I told you," Another coughing fit, this time coughing up blood. "Told you not to go." Merlin's heart felt like it was beating so hard that it would pound it's way out of his chest and he could feel blood trickling down his lips. He leant his head back and tried to ignore the massive stitch in his side as well as his wrist and throat. Surprisingly, his face and arm didn't hurt much. They were nothing more than a dull throbbing. He figured that Gaius must have given him something for them.

"And we told you no." Arthur answered. He looked up to the knights. "We have to get him back to Gaius." 

"I'll do it." 

The knights all looked behind them to where the volunteer was standing at the top of the steps. It was Mordred. "You must leave for your quest without further delay." The knights shared confused glances with each other as they all noticed that Arthur seemed to grip Merlin tighter in his arms at Mordred's suggestion. 

"Thank you, Mordred, but that won't be necessary. I'll take him." Arthur shifted his arms further under Merlin's upper back and legs, preparing to pick him up. There was no way he was leaving Merlin alone with Mordred, especially when he was in the state he was in. 

"Arthur, it would be best to let Mordred take Merlin to Gaius." Leon put in. 

"I said, I'll take him." Arthur shot an almost threatening glance at Leon and proceeded to pick up Merlin and carry him up the stairs, leaving a baffled group of knights behind him. 

After Arthur had gone, Gwaine stood up from his crouching position and walked over to where Mordred was standing. "You alright?" 

"Yeah, I'm fine." 

"You sure?" 

Mordred nodded almost angrily before leaving again with Coleville and Arnold, the knights he was going to travel with on his journey to the border. Which, as Mordred _had _noticed, was coincidentally (or maybe no to coincidentally) the furthest place from the castle that you could go while still being in Arthur's kingdom.

The rest of the knights joined Gwaine at the top of the stairs. "What was that all about?" Percival asked. 

"I don't know," That was Gwaine talking now. "But something's going on between Mordred and Arthur." 

* * *

On his way back to Merlin's room, Arthur had instructed a servant to find Gaius and bring him as fast as possible. Arthur just hoped that it would be soon.

Merlin had left the door unlatched, so Arthur kicked his foot against it to open it further. He sighed when he saw the pile of semi bloodied bandages that used to be around Merlin's face left in a pile on the floor. He hadn't really noticed that Merlin wasn't wearing them earlier. 

"You're never going to learn, are you?" Arthur made his way up to Merlin's room and laid his servant down on the bed once he had reached it. He noticed that there was a bruise high up on Merlin's forehead. He must have gotten that somehow when he was wandering about the castle. How had he managed that, anyway? Maybe someone found him and helped him to the courtyard. Arthur leant forward to pull the covers over Merlin when his sword knocked the cup off of the table. He muttered something to himself turned around to pick it up. 

"Strangeth." He heard behind him. Well, he didn't actually hear what the word was, but he thought he heard Merlin whispering it.

"Merlin?" Arthur turned around quickly and looked at Merlin. Strange, the covers were pulled up now. Arthur shrugged it off and placed the cup back on the table before sitting down in the chair. Eventually, Gaius came in holding various pastes and potions of sort, along with some new bandages. 

"What happened?" The old physician asked.

Arthur explained what had occurred while Gaius rubbed some sort of green salve on Merlin's arm and face. 

"What are we going to do?" Arthur asked. "We can't just keep him sedated until we return, but every time he awakes, he gets up again." 

"Then I'm afraid we'll have to restrain him." 

Arthur sighed and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. He didn't like the thought of strapping Merlin to the bed, but if they didn't, he would just hurt himself. 

"We'll do what he have to. But can we give him one more chance?" 

"What would change? He would still go looking for you and I'm not always here to make sure he doesn't leave." 

"But the knights and I will be gone by then." 

"Sire, he's delusional and has a fever. He's incredibly loyal and would never want you in danger without knowing that he's with you to help. He would try to follow you anyway." 

"Because it's his destiny." Arthur said exasperatingly.

"No, because you're his friend. Don't ever lose sight of that, Arthur."

"But, he does know?" Arthur questioned. 

"Knows what?" 

"What the druids say about him." 

Gaius hesitated slightly before answering. "Yes." 

"For how long?" Arthur was starting to get worried. Was that the only reason he became his servant? At the beginning with the witch who threw the dagger, Merlin pushed him out of the way. Did he only do that so Arthur would live to be king? Was Merlin only pretending to be his friend so he could influence him to rule the right way? 

All of these thoughts were honest concerns of Arthur's, but soon after he thought of them, he felt overwhelmingly guilty for thinking of Merlin that way. Merlin was his friend. His best friend. He'd been his friend for eight years, and it didn't take long for him to become his best one. His only real one. Whatever Merlin was hiding away, whatever the rest of his destiny entailed, it could never be enough to end his relationship with him. Arthur knew that. 

_Don't ever lose sight of that, Arthur. _The words Gaius had just spoken rang in Arthur's mind. So Gaius knew that there would be hardships to face one Arthur knew. Once he knew exactly about the destiny and prophecy. That couldn't be all that Merlin was hiding though, could it? There had to be more explanations. There had to be even more problems that Arthur had never even known about. 

Arthur was snapped back to reality when Gaius didn't answer his question, because the knights interrupted their conversation. 

"How is he?" Gwaine asked. 

"Not well." Answered Gaius. "He's developed a concussion. He must have fallen over on something earlier."

"But he'll be alright?" Questioned Leon. 

"He's not much worse off than he was before, but ultimately, his fate rests upon the outcome of your quest." 

"Speaking of which," That was Percival. "We need to go, sire." 

Arthur stood up in response and followed behind them as they all shuffled out the door, leaving behind Gaius to tend to the dying Merlin. Using so much magic that day had only caused Merlin's body to become weaker. He wouldn't be able to last for much longer.


End file.
